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International Court of Justice (It is the principal judicial organ of the…
International Court of Justice
It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York.
It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
It hears cases related to war crimes, illegal state interference, ethnic cleansing, and other issues.
Presiding over the ICJ, or ―World Court are fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of people nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
A candidate needs to get an absolute majority in both the chambers i.e. the UNGA and the UNSC, to get elected.
No two judges may be nationals of the same country.
Five judges elected every three years to ensure continuity within the court
Judges are eligible to stand for re-election.
Of the 15 judges, the composition is mandated to be as follows: 3 from Africa, 2 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 3 from Asia, 5 from Western Europe and other states, 2 from Eastern Europe
The President and Vice-President are elected by secret ballot to hold office for three years.
The P5 members of the UNSC (France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States) always have a judge on the Court.
The exception was China, which did not have a judge on the Court from 1967 to 1985 because it did not put forward a candidate.
Judges may deliver joint judgments or give their own separate opinions.
The Court settles legal disputes between nations only and not between individuals, organizations and private enterprises in accordance with international law.
The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States. It cannot deal with a dispute of its own motion
If a country does not wish to take part in a proceeding it does not have to do so, unless required by special treaty provisions. Once a country accepts the Court's jurisdiction, it must comply with its decision.
Decisions and Advisory Opinions are by majority, and, in the event of an equal division, the President's vote becomes decisive always have a judge on the Court.
Other existing international thematic courts, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) are not under the umbrella of the ICJ and it is legally and functionally independent from United Nations.